How Tesla's Master Plan Part 3 Will Change Everything

March 24, 2022

By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison

Tesla's work in AI leads them into robotics

In 2006, Elon Musk released The Tesla Motors Master Plan. The first plan outlined how Tesla would build an expensive electric sports car, use that money to build a more affordable car, then use that money to build an even more affordable car. All while providing zero-emission electric power generation options. Tesla has since accomplished all of the above, producing millions of electric cars while rapidly bringing down production costs.

A decade later, in 2016, while the first plan was coming to fruition, Tesla released the Tesla Master Plan, Part Deux. In short, the plan would be to "Create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage. Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments. Develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual via massive fleet learning and enable your car to make money for you when you aren't using it."

While this plan has yet to be fully realized, a third plan may indicate that the second plan is within reach. Tesla has made huge progress with its FSD beta program and Elon Musk recently doubled down that Tesla will release FSD later this year. The production of the CyberTruck and Semi is set to begin next year. As the second plan is coming together, Elon Musk tweeted that he’s working on Tesla's “Master Plan Part 3”

Working on Master Plan Part 3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2022

Elon further hinted at the subject of the master plan in another recent tweet:

Main Tesla subjects will be scaling to extreme size, which is needed to shift humanity away from fossil fuels, and AI.

But I will also Include sections about SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2022

This tweet gives us a lot more insight into what Tesla is planning. It is now clear that a key part of the plan will be to “scale to extreme size to shift humanity away from fossil fuels.”

Tesla has put out a 20 million vehicle target by 2030. It sounds like a third plan will address how to achieve or even exceed this target. Despite Tesla's massive growth, the automaker currently accounts for just roughly 1% of the total vehicle market share. Scaling to “extreme size” is necessary to make a significant shift away from fossil fuels. The limiting factor to further scaling is the manufacturing of batteries. In particular, the real bottleneck is the mining of rare earth minerals (copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt etc.) required for battery production.

This is why Tesla’s Master Plan, Part 3 could be centered around rare earth mineral mining. So how does the Boring Company, AI and SpaceX play into mining? One theory is that the Boring Company could create the necessary tunnels and land environment to extract raw materials. The Tesla bot could be used to safely and ethically mine raw materials. SpaceX could use starships to rapidly and cost-effectively transport raw materials across long distances. If the battery limiting factor is conquered successfully, the company could begin to think about other uses for batteries including HVAC systems, pre-built homes, and more.

It’s also possible that Tesla’s Master Plan, Part 3 will involve Tesla’s transition to an Artificial Intelligence and data company. After all, Elon has repeatedly stated that Tesla will be thought of more as an artificial intelligence company than anything else. The company has been focused on solving real-world AI and more recently we had AI day, introducing the Optimus Humanoid Robot.

In the product roadmap update on the Q4 earnings call, Elon stated that "the most important product development is the Optimus Humanoid Robot” which he thinks "has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time. He explained that “labor is the foundation of the economy."

With no labor shortages, humanoid robots could revolutionize the world economy. They could also play a crucial role in scaling to extreme size and overcoming the limiting factor of battery manufacturing.

Here is a prediction of what the Master plan, Part 3 could include:

Develop the best AI training supercomputer to solve real-world problems that goes way beyond just self-driving
Remove battery manufacturing as the limiting factor to vehicle production by building millions of Tesla bots to eliminate the need for dangerous, boring, repetitive jobs (mining)
Synergize The Boring Company, Tesla and SpaceX to mine and transport raw materials on a massive scale

What do you think Tesla aims to accomplish in its third master plan? Let us know.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

Manhasset, New York
West Covina, California
Los Angeles, California
Houston, Texas
Orlando, Florida
Westmont, Illinois
Tucson, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Delaware

Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.